Mother of Flies (2025) Review

In the first few minutes of Mother of Flies, college student Mickey (Zelda Adams) is asked by a friend whether or not “it’s back”. Mickey says it isn’t but from her awkward response and general physical state, the viewer suspects it’s not only back but it’s serious. It doesn’t take long before the “it” is confirmed as cancer as Mickey and her father Jake (John Adams) take a drive which is loaded with frustration at the limitations of their medical insurance plan but also a glimmer of faint hope that an alternative treatment will not only prolong Mickey’s life but provide a cure.

That alternative lies deep in the woods, where a witch called Solveig (Toby Poser) embraces the intertwining of life and death and has invited Mickey for three days of treatment which, although offered free of charge, will take Mickey on a challenging, often painful journey. Although he’s sceptical of the potential benefits offered by “witch camp”, Jake is unshakeably supportive of his daughter’s willingness to participate, even if it’s clear that he and Solveig don’t get along from the get-go. Solveig suggests Jake’s fear of loss has stripped him of his faith. Jake’s humour, a defence mechanism built from dealing with a long history of uncomfortable situations, only makes his reluctant host even more disdainful of him. Unsurprisingly, for Jake and everyone else involved, matters are going to become far more uncomfortable as pasts are confronted and danger emerges.

Mother of Flies is far more Hellbender than Hell Hole as the Adams Family return to nature with a vengeance with a stunning piece of work that’s as savage as it beautiful. As with much of their storytelling, gruelling, personal experience is woven into the fabric of the world building to add a resonant, all too real edge to the fantastical elements of the tale. Poser’s early voiceovers set the scene evocatively, as does the introduction to her character, which shows her chanting, drenched in blood and twisting back and forth on the forest floor, so by the time we arrive at Solveig’s eye-poppingly designed, moss covered wilderness dwelling, the viewer has already been enchanted by the promise of just what’s off that beaten track. The excellent production design, enhanced by Trey Lindsey’s ominous, fairytale-flavoured visual effects, seals the covenant.

Not that this is a retread of Hellbender. Far from it. As the tale unfolds, Solveig’s own journey is revealed in a series of flashbacks which inform her motivations and provide some of the darkest points yet in the Adams’ filmography. If you thought you were wandering into esoteric folk horror powered by the suggestion that something otherworldly is out there, there’s plenty of that to enjoy but be prepared for a number of grounded, shocking sequences too. It’s the adept melding of the cerebral and the cruel which the Adamses have always carried off with confidence but the bloody moments have a complexity about them which play smartly in the grey areas between merely good and bad.

Mother of Flies may lean into a horror steeped in the past but the framing is that of a modern world beset with the issues of universal healthcare not being a right. This is especially germane to the American setting of the action, with an early visit to a doctor and mention of co-pays proving as nightmarish, albeit in a different way, as what’s to come but, as a UK-based reviewer who has worked in the healthcare system, it’s a timely warning of what is arguably on its way to these shores. However, as with the previous output from these filmmaking folks, the political asides never overwhelm the fact that the aim is always to make a damn good horror movie and this is a damn good horror movie.

It’s something of a slow burn but the interactions between the three protagonists preclude any need for blazing action every five minutes. It’s crucial to allow this to get under your skin, to allow the characters to develop, to question what you’re being told and what you see – or what you think you’ve seen – which makes the eventual payoff all the more satisfying. You may think you know where this is heading but the resolution isn’t a standard one, with those witchy tropes being given a trip through the Adams blender.

Unlike Hell Hole, Mother of Flies is back to being a family affair in front of the camera and the female roles are given prominence, with John Adams’ Jake being cast as a benevolent but often bewildered onlooker as Zelda Adams and Toby Poser go through the emotional wringer, giving strong performances which always feel organic and build with the rising suspense. Lulu Adams, although not on writing or directing duties this time round, makes an impactful, amusing cameo appearance as a motel employee who knows a whole lot more about the local myths and legends than our ill-prepared father/daughter team. It’s a fun scene, both allowing the audience a moment to breathe but then immediately doubling down on the tension as the true level of the stakes involved is brought into the light.

A bewitching mix of philosophical musings on our very existence and grim, gory goings on, Mother of Flies is the Adams Family’s best yet. It’s a treat for the eyes and the brain. It’s packed with contrasts, the gorgeous locations bearing witness to horrific acts of violence. It’s an examination of loss and love, made with the undoubted passion of a talented, resourceful, committed clan immersing themselves in projects made without the compromises of pandering to a studio template of what genre titles should contain. The result? An unforgettable, visceral trip into the unknown.

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